UNITED NATIONS >> The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to condemn the American economic embargo of Cuba for a 32nd year after its foreign minister strongly criticized the Biden administration and expressed hope a new president would end it.
The vote in the 193-member world body was 187-2, with only the United States and Israel against the resolution, and one abstention. It tied the record for support for the Caribbean nation first reached in 2019 and again last year.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez blamed the U.S. government’s “maximum pressure policy” aimed at depriving Cuba of the imported fuel it relies on for a widespread blackout this month, including when Hurricane Oscar lashed the island.
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they reflect world opinion, and the vote has given Cuba an annual stage to demonstrate that the U.S. stands apart in its decades-old efforts to isolate the Caribbean nation.
Cuba has struggled with one of the worst economic and energy crises in its history. Besides waves of blackouts, citizens are frustrated over food shortages and inflation. Hundreds of thousands have migrated, many headed to the United States.
The embargo was imposed in 1960 following the revolution led by Fidel Castro and the nationalization of properties belonging to U.S. citizens and corporations. Two years later, it was strengthened.